Tenkuko
|image = |name = |kanji =天空子 |romanji = Tenkuko |race = Zanpakutō spirit |birthday = April 18 |age = |gender = Female |height = 5'7" |weight = 138lbs. |eyes = Brown |hair = Brown |blood type = O- |unusual features = |affiliation = Herrera's Army |previous affiliation = Soul Society Magatsuhi Sakyōnosuke Yōjirō |occupation = Rogue zanpakutō |previous occupation = |team = None |previous team = |partner = None |base of operations = World of the Living |previous partner = Unnamed shinigami |marital status = Single |relatives = |education = Self-taught |status = Active |shikai = Tenkuko |bankai = Unknown }} Tenkuko (天空子; lit. Child of the Heavenly Void) was a rampant zanpakutō spirit sought after by Central 46 due to her enormous threat to the mission of Soul Society. Her owner was in comatose for an unknown amount of time – the event that placed him in a coma also resulted in Tenkuko's rampancy. However, Tenkuko was able to keep herself in control, theorized to be because of her powers as a zanpakutō. Biography Early years Tenkuko was conceived as a zanpakutō belonging to a currently unnamed shinigami of the 7th Division, approximately fifty years before the Bleach storyline. She fought for her owner willingly, though that monotone future changed when Tenkuko's owner was suddenly stricken with a rare disease called seigan (精癌; lit. "spirit cancer"). It quickly spread to the shinigami's soul, causing harm to both Tenkuko and her owner. In an attempt to slow the advances of the disease, the shinigami was placed into a comatose state. However, the disease has no sign of receding, and it was predicted to take millennia for Tenkuko's owner to recover, given the severe conditions. Unknowingly, the ties that kept Tenkuko with her owner corroded away as a result of the spreading seigan and Tenuko broke free from her bonds with her owner. She quickly went into hiding, realizing that she would be classified as a rampant spirit by the Central 46. When the opportunity presented itself, Tenkuko ambushed a shinigami patrol about to head through the senkaimon to the human world, and sought refuge there. It was then that Central 46 decreed that Tenkuko be captured or eliminated at all costs. Hiding in the human world While hiding in the human world, Tenkuko toyed with the attempts by the Seireitei to subdue her, using her powers to render any assault upon her futile. It was probably her notoriety as a rogue spirit that earned her the attention of Magatsuhi Sakyōnosuke Yōjirō. Sometime after Yōjirō abandoned his position as Captain-Commander, Yōjirō approached Tenkuko with the offer for an alliance. Initially, Tenkuko was skeptical of this, seeing it as a trap designed to lure her into submission. However, Yōjirō expected her to think that way, and prepared a proper response for it. He tore his haori to shreds, letting the scraps scatter in the breeze. Tenkuko was shocked by the move, since it was an act virtually unheard of for a captain. However, she hid her shock with fierce laughter, commenting on how interesting Yōjirō was in comparison to the others. She agreed to help Yōjirō with his plans, but carefully avoided promising to become one of Yōjirō's subservient followers. Yōjirō noticed this, but said nothing of it, presumably because he wanted or needed Tenkuko's powers. Tenkuko followed Magatsuhi for some time, even taking down the captain Hotaru Fujibayashi, but soon left due to finding something else more interesting to pursue. Kōmei's hunt Tenkuko found herself hunted by the Seijin Master Kōmei, beginning a long contest between the two. With the mindset of having never been defeated, Tenkuko was originally confident in overcoming Kōmei. She was shocked when Kōmei almost captured her within an invisible block of telekinetic energy, luring her close with his unarmed self. Because Tenkuko's powers involved stopping the movement of energy around her, she was unable to negate Kōmei's ability since it did not use kinetic motion, narrowly slipping out of the trap. Kōmei was eventually forced to discontinue his pursuit of Tenkuko, much to her disappointment. Herrera's Army Herrera Tresckohen approached Tenkuko and offered her an alliance. Although Tenkuko was weary of arrancar, her boredom of the moment caused her to agree for the time being. Personality and traits She was a selfish and arrogant spirit, though her powers contributed to the latter. Tenkuko did not appear to care about others: only seeking amusement to starve off boredom. She has said that excitement was hard to come by, and that it should be relished whenever possible. She did not appear to care whether her wielder remained in a coma or not and had not made any effort in returning to her owner. Tenkuko despised the Central 46 the most, for its laws regarding subduing rogue zanpakutō spirits. Aside from the Central 46, Tenkuko saw Kōmei as her greatest rival, having escaped capture on several occasions through luck or skill. Although she originally saw Kōmei as just another hunter sent by Central 46, Tenkuko grew to see Kōmei's approach as a form of amusement: enjoying the confrontation to the fullest. Powers and abilities Tenkuko had the innate power to negate and nullify the movement of energy around her, allowing her to pass through a flurry of hadō or even stand up to most bankai with little to no effort. She could also nullify illusions before they could affect her senses, rendering such abilities useless before they could be of any use. With this power, she was able to easily fend off a task force consisting of 100 shinigami. Tenkuko could use her branched sword, presumably her shikai blade form, to influence the direction of strikes aimed at her, as well as to snare an opponent's blade on one of its many prongs. High Spiritual Pressure: Tenkuko's owner had high potential to become a powerful shinigami, with strong reiatsu. Tenkuko inherited the spiritual pressure that her master had, and possessed enough reiatsu to surprise lieutenant-level shinigami. Master Swordsmanship specialist: Tenkuko showed great proficiency in the use of her zanpakutō, having single-handedly annihilated a 100-man task force sent after her. Flash Step Expert: Though holding some proficiency in flash step, Tenkuko was easily outclassed by captain-level skill. Behind the scenes Tenkuko was originally created as an antithesis designed to ridicule the increasingly powerful characters created by members of the Bleach Fan Fiction Wiki. The character was surprisingly well received and accepted into Bleach - Generation III as an antagonist, despite having been published only a few minutes before. Her name originated from the Buddhist concept Śūnyatā, meaning "emptiness" in English. It refers to the apparent "non-existence" of powers affecting Tenkuko. If Tenkuko had a theme song, it would be My Soul by Miliyah Kato. Category:Articles by LaviBookman